London Olympics on Time and Under Budget: Minister

Preparations for London’s 2012 Olympic Games remain on time and under budget, the UK’s Minister for Sport and the Olympics said in a quarterly report released on Tuesday, with more than 500 million pounds ($793 million) of contingency funds as yet untouched.

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“This is a good position to be in with 150 days to go and sets us up for a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Hugh Robertson said in the report.

The UK government came under attack for doubling the budget for the Olympic ceremonies in December, with many questioning the wisdom of such a moveat a time when public finances are already constrained.

But the report said the overall public sector funding for the Games remained at 9.298 billion pounds, and with less than five months to go to the start of the Games, there was another 527 million pounds of uncommitted contingency funding left.

Part of that can be used to cover unexpected extra costs like additional security.

The anticipated final cost for the Olympic Delivery Authority, which is responsible for developing and building the new venues and infrastructure for the Games, now stands at 6.777 billion pounds, the report said.